What is justice?

Justice is a little like love: we understand it intuitively even if we cannot define it exactly; it stirs passion; and no one hates it. But unlike love, which concerns a few people close to us, justice concerns our life in society: how public life is ordered and how social goods and social duties are distributed among members. That makes it central to politics.

Different traditions:

• In ancient India, justice was linked with dharma; maintaining dharma, a just social order, was a primary duty of kings.
• In China, Confucius argued that kings should keep justice by punishing wrongdoers and rewarding the virtuous.
• In 4th-century BC Athens, Plato discussed justice in *The Republic*, through a dialogue between Socrates and his young friends Glaucon and Adeimantus.

Plato's question: why be just? The young men observed that unjust people (those who twist rules, dodge taxes, lie and deceive) often seemed better off than honest ones, if they were clever enough not to be caught. People say similar things today.

• Socrates argued that being just is in our long-term interest.
• He also explained that justice does not just mean helping friends and harming enemies, or pursuing one's own interests: justice involves the well-being of all people. Just as a doctor cares for the well-being of patients, a just ruler or government must care for the well-being of the people.

Giving each person their due. Ensuring well-being includes giving each person his or her due, an idea that is still central today. But our understanding of what is 'due' has changed.

• The German philosopher Immanuel Kant held that every human being possesses dignity. If so, what is due to each person is the opportunity to develop their talents and pursue their chosen goals.
• Justice therefore requires due and equal consideration for all individuals.
• Example (new): a hospital that treats patients in order of how serious their condition is, not by who is rich or well connected, is trying to give each person what is due to them.